Explorer for Endevor

Explorer for Endevor gives you the ability to Browse and Retrieve CA Endevor® SCM elements using a user-friendly, intuitive IDE interface. Explorer for Endevor also allows you to create customized filters for Endevor Elements and their locations to help make your workflow more efficient.

How can we improve Explorer for Endevor? Let us know on our Git repository

This extension is a part of the Che4z open-source project. Feel free to contribute right here.

Explorer for Endevor is also part of Code4z, an all-round package that offers a modern experience for mainframe application developers, including HLASM Language Support, COBOL Language Support, Zowe Explorer and Debugger for Mainframe extensions.

Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• Installing
• Getting Started
  • Create a Profile
  • Profile Persistence
  • Manage your Profiles
  • Working with Endevor Configurations
  • Filters
  • Browse or Retrieve an Element
• Configuration and Usage Tips
• Technical Assistance and Support for Explorer for Endevor

Prerequisites

Prior to using Explorer for Endevor, ensure that you meet the following prerequisites:

• Access to Mainframe

• Access to CA Endevor® SCM

• CA Endevor® SCM version 18.0.12 or higher with the following PTFs applied:

  • (if using version 18.0.x) PTFs SO09580, SO09581, SO10013 and SO11268
  • (if using version 18.1.x) PTF SO11272
  • (Optional) For use of Web Services with STC Pooling, ensure that you also have PTFs SO03928 and SO03929.

• CA Endevor® SCM Web Services installed and configured. For more information, see the CA Endevor® SCM documentation

• (Optional) Zowe CLI v1-LTS

• (Optional) CA Endevor plug-in for Zowe CLI version 6.0.0

Installing

Explorer for Endevor is included with Eclipse Che version 7.6.0 and above. Check here for more information.

Getting Started

Create a Profile

Explorer for Endevor uses Zowe CLI profiles for the CA Endevor plug-in to access Endevor inventory locations on the mainframe. If you already have a CA Endevor plug-in Zowe CLI profile, you can access inventory locations immediately through your profile in the tree. If you do not have a profile, you can create one in Explorer for Endevor.

After you create your profile, specify the configurations that you want to work with. This allows you to view and explore the selected Endevor repositories. You can create multiple profiles if necessary.

Follow these steps:

1. Click on the + icon.
2. Enter a name for your profile.
3. Enter your Endevor URL in the format https://host:port.
4. (Optional) To add your mainframe credentials to your profile, enter your username and password. Adding your credentials to your profile lets you access different configurations without entering your credentials. If you do not add credentials to your profile, a credential prompt displays whenever you click on an Endevor configuration in the tree.
5. Specify whether to Reject or Accept connections with self-signed certificates.
   • True: Reject connections with self-signed certificates.
   • False: Accept connections with self-signed certificates.

Your profile is now available in the panel on the left. You can also use this profile in Zowe CLI directly.

Profile Persistence

Explorer for Endevor loads your default Endevor profile into the tree. When you create a new profile in the extension, or select an existing Endevor profile to use, the profile will also appear in the tree. The additional profile will persist in the tree only provided that you use the profile to specify an Endevor web services instance and search that inventory location using a filter or the map. The information for profiles is stored in the settings.json and includes the web services instance you specified during a session.

Manage your Profiles

To edit a profile or update your credentials, use the Zowe CLI and the zowe profiles update endevor <name of profile> command. Here you can view the details of an existing profile and update them as needed.

If you have multiple profiles in the tree, you might wish to delete some once you no longer need them for a session. To do so, click on the trash can icon on the same line as the profile name.

Note: This action does not permanently delete the profile. When you click the + icon again, you will be able to add any previously created profiles again. You can only delete a profile by using the Zowe CLI.

Working with Endevor Configurations

Now that you have created your profile, assign the configurations that you want to work with.

Follow these steps:

1. Click on the profile in the panel. The profile automatically populates in the terminal panel.

2. To add a new configuration, click + next to the panel and select the required configuration. Your configuration appears in the panel below the profile entry. This step can be repeated as many times as you need to add multiple configurations.

You have successfully connected a profile to a configuration, and the profile is listed under Explorer for Endevor in the interface.

To change the name of a configuration, click the pencil icon next to the configuration in the tree.

Filters

Explorer for Endevor filters can be used so that only the data you wish to work with is shown.

Filters that you create are associated with your profile. Once you log in, the stored filters are available for use.

Create a Filter

Explorer for Endevor filters can be created in two ways:

• Create a filter manually by entering all the required parameters.

• Search in Map View, and save a filter from the path followed.

Create a Manual Filter:

Creating a manual filter is a quick way to narrow down your search to only relevant results.

Follow these steps

1. Establish the exact parameters to search as follows:

   • Environment (env)

   • Stage Number (stgnum)

   • System (sys)

   • Subsystem (subsys)

   • Type (type)

   • Element (element)

     If you are unsure about any of the parameters, you can substitute up to two with a * wildcard, or instead create a filter using the Map View option.

2. Click the plus icon next to Filter on the Explorer for Endevor tab.

   A prompt appears for you to enter the required parameters as follows:

   - env/stgnum/sys/subsys/type/element
   

   If the parameters (with a maximum of two parameters as * wildcards) are correctly entered, the filter appears under the expanded Filter section in the Explorer for Endevor tab.

Create a Filter in Map View:

Map View allows you to create custom filters, without necessarily knowing the parameters in advance or if you have limited or no prior knowledge of Endevor.

Follow these steps:

1. Open Map View in Explorer for Endevor for your selected Host

2. Select your desired options as you navigate through the different parameters in hierarchical order.

3. Select an entry at the Type level, and click the plus icon.

   The path that you followed appears highlighted at the top of your screen, displaying the following dialog:

   "Create a new Endevor filter (Press 'Enter' to confirm or 'Escape' to cancel)"
   

4. If the created filter matches your requirements, Press Enter.

   The newly created filter is automatically saved and now shows as an option under the Filters View

Browse or Retrieve an Element

The Browse Element action displays the entire contents of the Element, including related metadata. This allows you to determine if you want to retrieve and work with the Element

Follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the element in either the Map or Filters view.

   The options to Browse or Retrieve the Element appear.

2. Select the Browse Element option.

   The Element is displayed in the panel, including related information, as shown below:

3. Review the displayed information to determine if it is relevant or useful to you.

   You have successfully opened an element for inspection. If you wish, you can now Retrieve the Element, with or without Dependencies.

Configuration and Usage Tips

• Delete any filters when no longer required. Filters are saved automatically and so the list might become hard to manage.

• Restrict filters to a maximum of two wildcard entries to avoid heavy resource usage. If you have any requirements or dependencies, add a section describing those and how to install and configure them.

Technical Assistance and Support for Explorer for Endevor

The Explorer for Endevor extension is made available to customers on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the provided End-User License Agreement (EULA).

If you are on active support for CA Endevor, technical assistance and support is provided to Broadcom’s CA Endevor customers in accordance with the terms, guidelines, details and parameters located within Broadcom’s “Working with Support” guide located at:

https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/product-content/admin-content/ca-support-policies.html?intcmp=footernav

This support generally includes:

• Telephone and online access to technical support
• Ability to submit new incidents 24x7x365
• 24x7x365 continuous support for Severity 1 incidents
• 24x7x365 access to CA Support Online
• Interactive remote diagnostic support

Technical support cases must be submitted to Broadcom in accordance with guidance provided in “Working with Support”.

Note: To receive technical assistance and support, you must remain compliant with “Working with Support”, be current on all applicable licensing and maintenance requirements, and maintain an environment in which all computer hardware, operating systems, and third party software associated with the affected Broadcom CA software are on the releases and version levels from the manufacturer that Broadcom designates as compatible with the software. Changes you elect to make to your operating environment could detrimentally affect the performance of Broadcom CA software and Broadcom shall not be responsible for these effects or any resulting degradation in performance of the Broadcom CA software. Severity 1 cases must be opened via telephone and elevations of lower severity incidents to Severity 1 status must be requested via telephone.

Copyright © 2020 Broadcom. The term "Broadcom" refers to Broadcom Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.